Distinguished Young Women in Science: Life, Natural and Engineering Sciences

Distinguished Young Women In Science — Life, Natural and Engineering Sciences

Winner: Prof. Jolanda Roux

Prof. Jolanda Roux obtained her PhD in Microbiology, with a focus on tree health, from the University of the Free State in 1999 and has since then been working as the Manager of the Tree Protection Co-operative Programme Field and Extension Services. She is a currently a Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology at the University of Pretoria, and is a member of the Management Committee of the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute at the University.

Prof. Roux’s research focuses on the health of trees, particularly diseases caused by fungi and their insect associates. To date, Prof. Roux has authored or co-authored 96 papers in various refereed journals, many of which were the results of research conducted by the numerous graduate students that she has mentored. Prof. Roux also serves on a number of international committees and is currently the coordinator for the Division 7 Research Group on Forest Pathology of the International Union of Forestry Research Organization.

She is currently the Vice-President of the Southern African Society for Plant Pathology, serves on the editorial boards of the South African Journal of Science and Forest Pathology, and has been made an honorary professor by the Chinese Academy of Forestry. She was recently awarded the Commonwealth Forestry Association Queens Award for Forestry and has received an Outstanding Young Researcher Award from the University of Pretoria, as well as an Applied Plant Pathology Award from the Southern African Society of Plant Pathology. Her work in Africa has resulted in collaboration with numerous research organisations, forestry companies and universities on the continent. Prof. Roux is an NRF C1-rated researcher.

First Runner-Up: Prof. Janice Leigh Limson

Prof. Janice Leigh Limson completed her PhD in Chemistry at Rhodes University in 1999. She is currently an Associate Professor and Chair of the School of Biotechnology at Rhodes University. Researching at the interface of nanotechnology, biology and chemistry, in the field of biotechnology, her passion lies in the design and development of biosensors, which can be engineered to detect diseases such as cancer and malaria in their very early stages.

Prof. Limson has published 26 journal papers and 41 peer-reviewed conference papers. The impact of her research within the international scientific community is evidenced by in excess of 600 citations of her research in current scientific literature. Prof. Limson is well known for her achievements in promoting the public understanding of science in South Africa and for encouraging women in science. She is both the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Science in Africa magazine, for which she was awarded a NSTF Award for her ”Outstanding Contribution to Science, Engineering and Technology” in 2002.

She was the recipient of the Rhodes University Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award (2010), and was selected for two years running (2009 and 2010) in the Mail & Guardian ”Top 300 young South Africans to take to lunch”. Her work in promoting the public understanding of science has earned her the Highway Africa ”Innovative use of New Media in Africa” Journalism Award and a World Summit Award (both in 2003). Prof. Limson currently serves on the boards of three commercial companies in South Africa’s growing biotechnology sector. She is an NRF C2-rated researcher.

Second Runner-Up: Prof. Lizette Leonie Koekemoer

Prof. Lizette Leonie Koekemoer completed her PhD, after upgrading from an MSc, on molecular systematics of African malaria mosquitoes at the University of the Witwatersrand in 1999. Prof. Koekemoer is currently the Head of the Vector Control Reference Unit, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, a division of the National Health Laboratory Service. Prof. Koekemoer’s research interest is in the biology and genetics of mosquito vectors of malaria in Africa, with a strong emphasis on the problem of insecticide resistance, its genetic basis and operational significance for malaria transmission and control.

She has authored or co-authored 61 scientific papers, most of which appear in internationally accredited journals of high standing. Based on her research outputs, Prof. Koekemoer was elected Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society (London) in 2007. In 2009 she was awarded the Southern Africa Association for the Advancement of Science (S2A3) 2009 British Association Silver Medal for scientific achievement of a scientist under 40 years. Prof. Koekemoer currently holds an NRF C-rating.